Although water restrictions are in place, that shouldn’t be the only time you think about reducing your household’s water usage. In fact, by using less water year-round, you’ll be cutting your water bill, and who doesn’t like saving money?

So here are 8 tips you can start doing right now, with little to no cost, that will cut your water usage, cut your water bill and help out the aquifer, which we all depend on for water to drink. Sounds like a win-win-win, doesn’t it?

1. Don’t let the water run: When people fill the ice cube trays, brush their teeth or shave, they sometimes let the water run so it’s there when they need to fill the next tray or rinse off spit and stubble.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average bathroom faucet flows at a rate of two gallons per minute. So if it takes you two minutes to brush your teeth, and you brush twice a day, that’s eight gallons of water down the drain every day — and 2,920 gallons in a year.

Multiply that by the number of people in your home, and the numbers are astounding! So although this seems like a small act, it can really impact your water usage — and your water bill!

2. Water your grass, not the sidewalk: When you’re watering the grass (and be sure to water only during designated times!), before you walk away, make sure the sprinklers aren’t watering the side of the house, sidewalk, driveway or street. Under Stage 2 restrictions, you’re only allowed to water your grass once a week, and the grass will be much happier if it actually gets watered.

Use your dishwasher instead of hand washing dishes, but only run a full load and don't pre-rinse. If you do hand wash, don't let the water run while you're washing. Fill up the sink instead. (Billy Calzada/Express-News)

3. Use your dishwasher: If you have a dishwasher, but don’t use it (maybe you like hand washing your dishes?), start!

Treehugger.com did an extensive look at the dishwasher vs. hand washing question, and found that using the dishwasher is likely to be more efficient, but only if you’re not pre-rinsing the dishes and you only run the machine when it’s full.

If you have an older dishwasher, an Energy Star model would use water even more efficiently, so take that into consideration when it’s time to get a new one. However, if you do prefer to hand wash, see Tip No. 1.

Bonus: If you use the air dry setting, rather than the heat dry, you’ll use less energy, too.

4. Cut laundry water use: First off, don’t use the prewash cycle on your washing machine. You only need to wash the clothes once; prewashing is like doing it twice.

Make sure you do a full load every time you use the machine, since the average machine uses about 41 gallons of water per load, according to the EPA. And it will use the same amount of water and energy whether it’s full or not. So wait until you have a full load, or at least select the appropriate load size.

Finally, if you can wear something more than once before washing it, do it! Just don’t sacrifice personal hygiene for water savings. Nobody wins then.

Try to cut your water use in the shower by half, or turn off the water altogether while soaping up — only use it to rinse off. (Associated Press file photo)

If you’re already taking shorter showers, try showering like a sailor! A Navy-style shower — get wet, turn off the water while you soap up and turn it back on to rinse off. Planet Green says a Navy shower uses around three gallons of water versus as much as 60 gallons for a normal shower.

6. Collect water to use for plants: When we do get rain, put some pails out to collect water. You can use it to water your plants for days to come.

Also, consider collecting extra water from washing dishes and from the shower for watering indoor and outdoor plants. Or you can use the captured water to “flush” your toilet instead of actually flushing. (This is a good second use for mop water.)

If you think you have a leak, but you can't see it, check your water meter when you know no water is being used and keep the water from being used for two hours. Then, check the meter again. If the number has changed, there's a leak somewhere. (Express-News file photo)

If your toilet runs, SAWS says jiggle the handle and check the flapper, because a leaking toilet can waste up to 1,440 gallons per day — that’s 525,600 gallons a year!

If you think you have a leak, but you can’t see it, check your water meter when you know no water is being used and keep the water from being used for two hours. Then, check the meter again. If the number has changed, there’s a leak somewhere.

8. Control your toilet’s flow: If you live in an older home, you probably don’t have a low-flow toilet. If you don’t want to install one, you can put a brick wrapped in plastic (or a milk jug full of water or sand) in the tank to reduce water use. (The plastic wrap is important — you don’t want pieces of the brick to wear off and clog your pipes!)